According to an assessment by the Hana Human Rights Organization, Iran’s Ministry of Interior has stated that the implementation of the so-called “Plan for the Regulation and Expulsion of Unauthorized Afghan Nationals” has not been suspended and remains in effect. The policy is being implemented at a time when the consequences of armed conflict and an increasingly securitized environment in Iran have further heightened the vulnerability of Afghan migrants and asylum seekers.
Hana has previously documented, in two separate reports, human rights violations affecting Afghan nationals in Iran, including cases of arrest, ill-treatment, deportation, family separation, and serious barriers to obtaining civil documentation and accessing essential services. The continued implementation of the expulsion policy under the current circumstances raises serious concerns that these patterns of abuse may intensify.
Hana is particularly concerned about Afghan children under the age of 18 and Afghan women. A child’s rights are independent of the migration status of their parents, and irregular residence cannot, in itself, justify the detention, family separation, or removal of a child without an individualized assessment of the child’s circumstances. Any decision directly affecting a child must give primary consideration to the best interests of the child, preserve family unity, and provide enhanced safeguards for unaccompanied and separated children.
The large-scale implementation of an expulsion policy without clear procedures for identifying and protecting children at risk may expose them to family separation, disruption of education, lack of legal protection, statelessness or absence of recognized legal identity, exploitation, and return to unsafe conditions. These concerns are particularly acute for children who were born in Iran or have spent a substantial part of their lives in the country.
Afghan women and girls face additional and gender-specific protection risks. Their removal to Afghanistan without an effective assessment of risks arising from gender, previous political or social activity, family circumstances, or the absence of adequate support networks may expose them to serious violations of their fundamental rights. Classification as an “unauthorized foreign national” cannot substitute for an individualized assessment of protection needs and the risks a person may face upon return.
Hana stresses that a State’s authority to regulate the entry and residence of non-nationals is not absolute. Migration enforcement must remain consistent with the principle of non-refoulement, the prohibition of collective expulsion, access to individualized procedures, respect for family unity, and the heightened protection obligations applicable to women and children. In the present conflict-affected and highly securitized environment, continuation of the “Expulsion Plan” without effective legal and protection safeguards creates a serious risk of further human rights violations against Afghan migrants and asylum seekers, particularly women and children under the age of 18.